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The war on the homefront

Dan Sernoffsky

A recent incident in Florida received some national notice, although certain aspects of the incident were downplayed. A young teenager in Florida was kidnapped for ransom but managed to escape unharmed. Police know the identity of the kidnapper, as well as several of his aliases, and are seeking him.

What hasnâ€™t been particularly noted, however, is the fact that the kidnapper was an illegal alien.

As the United States continues to fight, and considering the attack that triggered the fight, a war against terrorism, the unrelenting focus on the war, especially by its critics, what is being largely overlooked is what is becoming a full-scale invasion of the country from the Mexican border.

It is particularly ironic that while illegal aliens continue to flood into the country, and while apologists for that invasion attempt to facilitate it with calls for amnesty, the United States has determined that legal residents now find themselves required to carry a passport to travel back and forth to Canada. For the millions who live on either side of the Canadian border, and who regularly travel between the two countries for business or pleasure, the passport requirement, in light of the â€˜passâ€™ given to those already illegally in the country or planning to enter illegally from Mexico, is a virtual insult.

Although Islamic terrorism remains a very real threat to the United States, the threat from illegal immigration is almost equally dangerous. While the anti-war critics, both those in Congress and those outside, continually damn the President for exercising his role as commander-in-chief, and in so doing regularly point to the cost in casualties of the war, they conveniently overlook the casualties caused by the illegal alien invasion.

The war in Iraq has claimed just over 3,100 American lives since it began in 2002. Each of those deaths represents not only a personal loss to families and friends but to the country, as well. There is no way of knowing what the young soldiers might have become after returning to civilian life. The reality, however, is that each of those soldiers is a volunteer, and each was aware of danger he faced when he was deployed.

But the critics, particularly those on the American left who condemn the war while demanding the flood of illegal aliens not only be welcomed but granted blanket amnesty, somehow manage to overlook some other casualty figures. Recently, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) released estimates which indicate about 12 Americans a day are murdered by illegal aliens. That translates into more than 4,300 victims a year, or well over 20,000 since 2002, more than three times the number of combat-related deaths suffered by the American military in the same time span. Additionally, various traffic safety groups have estimated that over 4,500 Americans are killed in traffic accidents involved illegal alien drivers.

The blind eye turned toward the cost in lives caused by illegal aliens remains similarly blind to the other costs to American society. By carefully couching their support of illegal immigration in terms which suggest anything other than a willing embrace of those aliens represents an attitude which is racist and intolerant, those enablers are in effect destroying the very system â€” the system of law under which we abide â€” which has granted them the freedom to voice their opinion. In championing the cause of amnesty for illegal aliens, the enablers are denying both their culture and their heritage.

Most of those calling for amnesty, particularly those in government, unfortunately see no consequence to their support of those who are consciously and willingly violating the laws of the United States. To them, it is just a matter of political empowerment, one perhaps best summed by a line from a movie in which one character says, â€œ... thereâ€™s two kinds of dumb, the guy that gets naked and runs out in the snow and barks at the moon, and the guy who does the same thing in my living room. First one donâ€™t matter, the second one youâ€™re kinda forced to deal with.â€

Those who would grant amnesty to the millions of illegal aliens already in the country, and the hundreds or thousands who continue to flow across the border daily, the consequences of the illegal invasion are not apparent. Those whose lives are daily affected by the invasion are struggling to deal with it.

### Dan Sernoffsky is an award-winning sportswriter and political columnist for The Lebanon Daily News in Lebanon, Pa. A career journalist, he is a graduate of Ottawa University, Ottawa, Ks., and attended graduate school at Central Michigan University. The father of four grown children, he and his wife reside in Lebanon.